Remember the Preamble

As imagined in the spirit of the present day

Monticello, Virginia
In the Year of the Republic’s Struggle

To my fellow citizens,

Though I write not from this world but from the liberty of memory, I am stirred from my eternal silence by the thunder of faction, the decay of deliberation, and the steady march of demagoguery.

I behold a Republic I once helped birth now endangered not by foreign armies, but by the erosion of civic virtue, the abandonment of reasoned debate, and the profaning of the very Constitution which we once penned with trembling hope and solemn resolve.

I confess: I was never a man without contradiction. I have lived with my hypocrisies, and history has rightly judged them. Yet even still, I held firm to one conviction—that a republic, if it is to survive, must rest not on kings or mobs, but on the informed consent of a reasonable, educated, and engaged people.

Today, your great experiment is tested anew. The clamor from extremes drowns out the moderates. The pursuit of power eclipses the pursuit of wisdom. And too many cry ‘liberty’ while they mean only license for themselves.

And so I urge you: Remember the Preamble. Not as a poetic preface, but as a covenant. The middle ground—though mocked by zealots on all sides—is not weakness. It is the foundation upon which all liberty stands.

Do not mistake the noise of partisans for the voice of the People. Do not surrender the Republic to those who promise greatness through division. Let your countrymen know that justice and unity need not be enemies, and that dissent, when honorable, strengthens democracy.

Rise, not in fury, but in fidelity. Rise, not for a party, but for a principle. Rise, because the promise still remains.

Ever in pursuit of liberty and balance,

Thomas Jefferson

• Founders Online (U.S. National Archives) – Thomas Jefferson
  The most complete, searchable archive of Jefferson’s writings, letters, drafts, and official documents.

• Monticello – Thomas Jefferson Foundation
  Includes curated selections of Jefferson’s writings, documents, and biographical insight.

• Library of Congress – Thomas Jefferson Papers
  Digitized manuscripts from the Library of Congress collection. Handwritten and transcribed versions available.

• The Avalon Project – Yale Law School
  Includes the Declaration of Independence and other early American documents attributed to or influenced by Jefferson.

• University of Virginia – Jefferson Digital Archive
  A deep academic resource housed by the university Jefferson founded.

Letters from the Grave

Patrick Henry – A Letter from Patrick Henry